Sunday, August 30, 2009

Kudos to the director of Melbourne University's Jewish Studies Centre, Dr Dvir Abramovich for his opinion piece in today's Sunday Age - THERE ARE AS MANY JEWISH OPINIONS AS THERE ARE JEWS. The article is a response to a series of mean spirited attacks on Jewish communal organisations and their leaderships - an occurence which attracted the attention of a gleeful Age editorship to continue its unrelenting attack on the Jews.

Abromovich sets the record straight -

There's nothing sensible about a blog that judges an entire community.

ANYONE with a passing knowledge of the Victorian Jewish community would be aware thatthere is no shortage of outlets for debate. By a crude estimation, there are annually more than 2000 events that are open, cater to every segment of the populace and explore every dimension of Jewish life.

Reading through the interview with the Sensible Jew (''The return of the Sensible Jew'', 23/8) and apiece in June (''Two women take on the 'swill' who speak loudest for Jews'', 7/6), I could hardly contain my bemusement. Alex Fein's evidence-light prosecutorial indictment of the entire Jewish community is riddled with grandiloquent contentions, distortions and omissions that fly in the face of objective reality.

Friday, August 28, 2009

Leading American attorney, Professor Alan Dershowitz exposes as lies the Aftonbladet blood libel against the Jews and the questions the Swedish foreign minister, Carl Bildt's refusal to condemn the "undocumented and highly volatile accusation" - Sweden's refusal to condemn 'organ libel' is bogus.

And just to highlight the fact that the Swedes are in this up to their necks there's this post following the blog from a reader Jack Schwartz

Prof Dershowitz, The Israeli Hebrew paper Ma`ariv reported the other day that the same author, Donald Bostrom, had published a book back in 2001 that contained some of the same libelous "organ harvesting" charges as are found in his recent article. This book, entitled Inshallah, was subsidized by the Swedish foreign ministry. So the problem is not merely that Bildt now refuses to condemn the offensive article but that his ministry financed publication of similar charges eight years ago. Hence it appears that Sweden's foreign ministry thought that it had an interest in publshing such libels

Thursday, August 27, 2009

How ironic after my recent post about the Age's Yasser Arafat birthday notice which concealed many truths about the former Palestinian President, that the same newspaper could publish an article entitled "Truth is the way to peace" by Jonathan Freedland.

Freedland's thoughtful op ed argues that Middle East peace will be achieved only if difficult questions, going beyond a settlement freeze, are tackled. Both sides will need to confront some inconvenient truths to answer those questions.

That's fine but if the Age believes in the headline and the excellent cartoon by Spooner accompanying Freedland's peace then it should stop being so hypocritical and disingenuous and start being honest and giving its readers the full truth about the conflict rather than to hide an entire narrative of Palestinian rejectionism by their leaders towards peace with their Jewish neighbours.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Sorry I missed it (even if it was only by a couple of days) but terrorist leader Yasser Arafat celebrated his birthday this week. Not that he was in a position to do much celebrating given that for almost four years he's been keeping company only with the worms that slither around under his Ramallah mausoleum.

Fortunately for old Yasser who would have turned 80 on 24 August, someone at Al Age hasn't forgotten him. That person placed a birthday notice in honour of Chairman-rais Arafat's big day with a carefully worded notice under Today's Birthdays as follows:-

YASSER ARAFAT (1929 - 2004) PALESTINIAN LEADER

Never giving up hope, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat spent his life fighting for an independent Palestinian state. He was born on August 24, 1929, in Cairo, Egypt(although this is disputed). Arafat's earliest memory was of British soldiers breaking into the family home and beating members of his family. At 19. he went to Palestine to fight against the Jews, before returning to university after the defeat of the Arabs. In 1958 he founded the Al-Fatah movement and in 1964 he established the Palestinian Liber­ation Organisation. In 1993, Arafat signed the Oslo Accords, a peace agreement which allowed Palestine to hold elections. In 1994, he received the NobelPeace Prize, and two years later was elected presi­dent of the Palestinian Authority. In 2002, Israeli president Ariel Sharon ordered that Arafat be con­fined to his Ramallsh home. He remained confined for two years until his death on November11, 2004, aged 75, He had one daughter with his wife Suba Tawil.

Excuse me a second while while I vomit.

Thanks.

How very typical of the folks at Fairfax to wax lyrical about Yasser, the racist hatemongering, lying, mass murderer and thief who looted billions from his own people before leaving it after his demise (most probably from aids) to his family who still live in plush European villas.

It's beyond comprehensive how the Arab lobbyists who prepared this piece of utter bilge could possibly have left all the meaty stuff about this criminal in the paper's blank pages out of everyone's view?

One of the foreign editors at the newspaper is a Palestinian; surely he knows the truth about Arafat?

I can understand a member of the Arafat fan club wishing to distance him from the other nasties who have held leadership positions among the Palestinians; Nazi hugging thugs like Hadj Amin El Husseini, Achmed Shukeiry who frothed at the mouth and like a Dalek spewed hate filled invective and threatened to exterminate the Jews, the two faced Holocaust denying mobster Abbas and Haniyeh the Hamas genocide man but please give us all a break!

Arafat was in a league of his own amid this rogue's gallery yet look at how he's feted by the Age. The item does concede that the circumstances of his birth are disputed but fails to mention his role in terror over five decades during which he was responsible for the deaths of far more of his own people than of Jews. It fails to mention that while he signed the Oslo Accords, he never did anything to honour them, that he initiated the Second Intifada replete with murder and suicide bombings and that he lied, cheated and stole his way to a fortune at the expense of his own people. And while the Age has no qualms about describing some Israeli leaders as "militant", "hawkish" or "right wing", it fails to mention the admiration Arafat held for Husseini who assisted Hitler and Eichmann in planning the final solution of the Jews during the Second World War.

And of course, Al Age never even deigned to concede that Arafat shared his dubious peace prize with two Jews who were truly sincere in their quest for peace when they shook hands with the miserable little jerk on the White House lawns in 1993.

My oath he is and this birthday column will go down in the history of infamous journalism. The anonymous piece was beautifully parodies in Andrew Bolt's blog by a contributor who came up with a birthday notice for the Fuehrer in the Al Age style as follows:-

ADOLPH HITLER (1888? - 1945) GERMAN LEADER

Never giving up hope, German leader Adolf Hitler spent his life fighting for an independent Reich. He was born in Austria in 188? and Hitler’s earliest memory was of the Jews disenfranchising his neighbors and family. In his 20s he went to the western front to fight against the allied Jewish imperialists before returning to Germany on that countries defeat to sow the seed of hatred against the Jews who he blamed for the axis powers losing the war. He suffered at the hands of the democratically elected government of Germany, was imprisoned and wrote a bookabout how terrible the Jews are. He was released and founded the NAZI movement. He was elected to the German leadership and Adolf Hitler received great praise as he showed off his new Germany during the 1936 Olympic. He signed the Czech agreement to try and prevent a world war and guarantee world peace though that ambition was thwarted again by the Jews and WW2 eventuated. He died in 30th April 1945 together with his wife Eva Hitler-Braun.

As you know well, a leading newspaper in your country, Sweden, earlier this month published an article alleging that Israeli soldiers killed Palestinians to harvest their organs.

This wasn't just any newspaper. Aftonbladet is the largest-circulation newspaper in Scandinavia. An estimated 15 percent of your fellow Swedes read the paper, which is owned by the Swedish Trade Union Confederation.

And this wasn't just another article in the paper. It was given pride of place in the Culture section. Indeed, two pages were devoted to it under the radioactive headline, "They plunder the organs of our sons."

Mr. Minister, despite many requests, you have chosen not to comment on the article's unfounded, indeed ludicrous, allegations.

In explanation, you wrote, "Freedom of expression and press freedom are very strong in our constitution by tradition. And that strong protection has served our democracy and our country well. If I were engaged in editing all strange debate contributions in different media, I probably wouldn't have time to do much else."

And you went further still. When your ambassador in Israel, Elisabet Borsiin Bonnier, laudably condemned the article, rather than stand with her, your ministry distanced itself from her position, stating that it was "designed for an Israeli audience."

Mr. Minister, this is not an issue of freedom of expression or freedom of the press.

What the newspaper did was repugnant. It published an incendiary screed.

Regrettably, it's a fact of life that some media outlets act irresponsibly, whether driven by blind ideology, poor editing, or the financial bottom line. Depending on national libel laws and media guidelines, there may be recourse in the courts or oversight bodies. In the case of Aftonbladet, we shall see.

Mr. Minister, frankly speaking, this matter has become an issue of political leadership – or the lack thereof.

Assuming you disagreed with the article, all you had to say was that you found the report odious and welcomed the reaction of Ambassador Bonnier. That would have been the right thing to do in a case that has garnered global attention. And, by the way, it would have taken less time and space than explaining why you didn't do so.

Instead, you dug in your heels and have now made yourself, more than the paper's editors and the article's author, the central issue, turning this into a diplomatic face-off with understandably angry – and perplexed – Israeli officials.

Mr. Minister, you are the foreign minister of a respected member of the EuropeanUnion and the international community.

Your country currently holds the rotating EU Presidency.

Speaking of the EU, its Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia has adopted a working definition of antisemitism. Among other applicable references in this case, it says that contemporary acts of antisemitism include, "Using the symbols and images associated with classic antisemitism (e.g., claims of Jews killing Jesus or blood libel) to characterize Israel or Israelis."

Commendably, your country took the lead a decade ago in launching a process that created the International Task Force on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research.

Is it not painfully obvious that one of the contributing factors to the Holocaust was the widespread use of defamatory speech to demonize, and ultimately dehumanize,the Jewish people?

You are the former prime minister of Sweden and a member of one of Sweden's most renowned families, and you have proudly referred to Sweden's rejection of all forms of antisemitism.

You have served in key EU and UN positions to bring stability and security to the war-torn Balkans, earning you a reputation as an admired statesman. You are known to speak your mind, even when it ruffles feathers in other capitals, as it has more than once.

So your silence in this matter becomes all the more troubling.

Aftonbladet decided to abuse the cherished right of freedom of speech to publish brazen lies. Your response, seemingly, is to muzzle your own right to challenge what it printed.

That would be disturbing at any time, but even more so today.

Mr. Minister, a blood libel against the State of Israel was published by a popular Swedish paper. Yes, a blood libel.

The charge that Israeli soldiers deliberately kill Palestinians for their organs is just that – a mendacious allegation that has shattering historical echoes and caused such harm to the Jewish people throughout the ages, as Jews were repeatedly accused of poisoning wells, spreading infectious diseases, and killing Christian children to drain their blood for the baking of Passover matzah.

More recently, it is Israel that has borne the brunt of such canards. With seeming abandon, Palestinians have leveled the most bizarre claims against Israel. They have ranged from a mass fainting epidemic allegedly due to Israeli "poisoning," to Israel's supposed distribution of aphrodisiac bubble gum to "destroy" young women in Gaza; from wholesale "massacres" in Jenin (or "Jeningrad"), to an attempt by the Israeli army to "wage war" against the Church of the Nativity – and, by extension, all of Christianity.

Subsequent investigation proved that each of these was totally unfounded, but not before irreparable damage to Israel's reputation was done.

What appeared in Aftonbladet, therefore, cannot be seen in isolation. There is a context for it – and that context should cause concern.

Yes, Mr. Minister, it is late in the day to clarify your position. At this point, you may not wish to appear to succumb to "external pressure" to do so. And even if you do speak out, there will be those who wonder why it took so long and question your sincerity.

Put those concerns aside and do the right thing. There is a wonderful Swedish book, Tell Ye Your Children, which has been translated into many languages. Its aim is to teach about the Holocaust and the lessons to be learned from it.

The first lesson is the obligation of people of good will to unmask raw hatred and confront it. Silence is never an option, nor is denial a strategy.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

In an article in the opinion section of the paper’s Website Sunday afternoon, a journalist under a pseudonym penned a story, complete with dateline, research and witness accounts in quotation marks, alleging that Sweden, in an effort to compete with salmon products from neighboring Norway, harvested the feet of Norwegian fishermen to extract the secret ingredient that – according to the article – makes the Swedish salmon dish more palatable: the fungi growing on Norwegian fishermen’s feet.

The Yediot story even names the Swedish army’s secret unit whose job it is to harvest the organs: Stinkande strumpor [Swedish for 'smelly socks']

WOW!

And it was only yesterday that I made the comment about how Sweden had sunk back into the Stone Ages.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Sweden's largest newspaper, Aftonbladet, recently published an article claiming that Israel's army deliberately has deliberately kidnapped and murdered Palestinian civilians cut out and sell their organs to sick people needing transplants. The story, by Donald Bostrom, is based on Palestinian sources and its author admits that he has no evidence other than the word of his informants but says it is up to Jews and Israelis to prove themselves innocent.

The story is simply too absurd for words and Bostrom is being more than disingenuous when he claims Jews are guilty until they prove themselves innocent. When Jews and Israel are accused by neighbours who might have lying on their agendas, there is no rule of law. They are singled out in a special way and the standards that apply to allegations of Jewish behaviour are different to the standards that apply to others. That's called "racism" in my book and this appalling practice has regrettably, become widespread across the world and including in Australia where we have one local broadsheet which is a serial offender in that whilst it constantly highlights accusations made against Israel, it ignores actual evidence of wrongdoing and hatemongering from its enemies.

The Israeli government is now considering taking legal action against the reporter for libel Israel may sue Swedish paper over IDF slur. It really is about time these shonks were taken to task and perhaps an action for criminal libel could even be undertaken on the basis that Bostrom and his newspaper have committed a reckless criminal act against the Jewish and Israeli people. I suppose we might even claim that it's up to them to prove their innocence.

It's bad enough when a newspaper makes these allegations but the ridiculous double standard applied by the Swedish government demonstrates how Europe is now quacking hypocritically in its boots for fear of offending its growing Muslim minorities. When Swedish Embassy in Israel described the Aftonbladet report report as “appalling”, the Swedish Foreign Ministry went catatonic and a spokeswoman began frothing at the mouth about how the "Swedish government is committed to freedom of the press." - In Sweden, silence is golden - just ask FM Carl Bildt.

This is the same Swedish government interfered to pressure newspapers and internet to censor the Danish cartoons a few years back.

Double standards, hypocrisy and racism. Sweden is now back in the Stone Ages.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Yaakov Kirschen has come up with a winner in his brilliant cartoon entitled "Israel's Image". It's her multitude of enemies who try to create a different image to the reality and that is why they are such abysmal losers!

I tend to agree with much of what he says. Playing the Nazi card is the resort of scoundrels and liars but rather than make it illegal to raise the allegation, it is far better to expose this boorish practice for what it is - a "childish, unthinking expression of cheap political outrage".

We saw the best and most recent example of playing the Nazi card in Caryl Churchill's pathetic 8 minute piece of agitprop "Seven Jewish Children" which had the anti-Israel crowd including reporters from our local broadsheet in Melbourne salivating at the opportunity to do some Jew bashing. If only those shameless Jews who involved themselves in the Australians for Palestine propaganda festival that accompanied the play reading read O'Neill's piece, they might come one day come to their senses.

Joe Stork, a senior official in Human Rights Watch, which accuses the IDF of killing Palestinians who waved white flags, is a fanatical supporter of the elimination of Israel. He was a friend of Saddam, ruled out negotiations and supported the Munich Massacre, which “provided an important boost in morale among Palestinians.”

Last Thursday, many world media outlets covered the press conference in which a senior Human Rights Watch official, Joe Stork, presented the report accusing Israel of killing twelve Palestinians in the Gaza Strip who waved white flags during Operation Cast Lead. Stork, the person identified with the report, has a unique history of Israel-hating: He supported the murder of Israeli athletes in Munich, was an avid supporter of Saddam Hussein and more.

Several times in the past, Stork has called for the destruction of Israel and is a veteran supporter of Palestinian terrorism. Already as a student, Stork was amongst the founders of a new radical leftist group, which was formed based on the claim that other leftist groups were not sufficiently critical of Israel and of the United States’ support of it. Already in 1976, Stork participated in a conference organized by Saddam Hussein which celebrated the first anniversary of the UN decision that equated Zionism with racism. Stork, needless to say, arrived at the conference as a prominent supporter of Palestinian terrorism and as an opponent to the existence of the State of Israel.

He also labeled Palestinian violence against Israel as “revolutionary potential of the Palestinian masses”—language that was typical of fanatical Marxists.

In articles which he authored during the 1970’s, Stork stated that he was against the very existence of Israel as an “imperialistic entity” and, to this end, provided counsel to Arab regimes on how to eliminate the Zionist regime. He also was opposed to any negotiations since this meant recognizing its existence: “Zionism may be defeated only by fighting imperialism,” wrote Stork, “and not through deals with Kissingers.”

On other occasions, Stork expressed his position that the global Left must subordinate itself to the PLO in order to strengthen elements that opposed any accord with Israel. It would seem that he has not changed his ways since then. He is still conceptually subordinate to those who have maintained their opposition to the existence of the State of Israel. Once the world’s radical left supported the PLO. Today, part of the global Left supports Hamas.

Stork, of course, is not alone. The hate ships that arrive from time to time, or attempt to arrive, to the shores of Gaza, are full of radicals of his ilk. They do not identify with efforts towards compromise or peace. On the contrary, they identify with those who are continuing the old line that supports the elimination of Israel. And what would happen if the PLO should decide to enter the negotiations track? Stork already recommended years ago that the Palestinian left splinter in order to continue the resistance. Hamas obeyed. It is possible to guess where Stork’s heart lays.

Where does Stork stand regarding matters of objectivity and neutrality? He criticized Professor Ibrahim Abu-Lughod, himself a PLO figure, because he edited an anthology which tried, at least seemingly, to produce a balanced presentation. “Academic neutrality is deceitful,” wrote Stork. And what about factual accuracy? Stork claimed that Menachem Begin said that, ‘The Palestinians are two-legged animals.” In fact, Begin said that those who come to kill children are “two-legged animals.” The difference is, of course, huge. Stork, time after time, justifies his high standing in the industry of hate and lies against Israel.

Stork reached his peak in a statement published by the Middle East Research and Information Project, which dealt with gathering information on the Middle East conflict, and in which Stork was a leading figure. This was a statement that included explicit support for the murder of the eleven Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics:

“Munich and similar actions cannot create or substitute for a mass revolutionary movement,” the statement said, “But we should comprehend the achievement of the Munich action…It has provided an important boost in morale among Palestinians in the camps.”

Murder and terrorism, if so, are a matter of morale.

This is the man. A radical Marxist whose positions have not changed over the years. On the contrary. Objectivity, neutrality or sticking to the facts are not Stork’s strong suit. He even proudly exclaims that there is no need for neutrality.

Is it possible to relate seriously to a report against Israel which this man stands behind? Both Camera and Professor Gerald Steinberg have revealed worrying data on the leaders of Human Rights Watch and on the two people who head its Middle East Department—Sarah Leah Whitson and Joe Stork—even before its latest report and unconnected to it. The organization, as part of its false presentation, issued polite condemnations of Hamas rocket fire. But it seems that such blatant anti-Israel bias leaves room for doubt. A Stork-produced report on Israel is about as objective as a report by Baruch Marzel on Hebron.

Israel is called upon to provide explanations in the wake of Human Rights Watch reports. It is about time that Israel publicly exposed the ideological roots of several of this organization’s leaders and demands the dismissal of these supporters of terrorism and haters of Israel. Until then, Israel, justifiably, cannot seriously comment on criticism from such a body.

I'll go a little further. It's not just HRW that's been infiltrated by the Palestinian hate Israel lobby. The United Nations itself is wracked with the same disease and that's why the forthcoming U.N report on Israel's defensive war in Gaza is likely to have no credibility whatsoever.

Monday, August 17, 2009

When Palestinians slaughter Palestinians in the course of a shoot out in a Gaza mosque the safe option for our local broadsheet is a feel good story about this beer salesman.

When the news isn't quite going in the direction you want it to go, the artful media propagandist can still push his agenda by means of diversionary tactics. If you have to keep the slaughter in Gaza away from the attention of your readers when there's not a Jew in sight to be blamed, then what better than a puff piece about a Palestinian beer manufacturer from the West Bank whose business is booming - Palestinian Oktoberfest in the West Bank?

Taybeh Beer's been around for quite a while and is living proof that the co-operation between Israelis and Palestinians can bring about beneficial outcomes for both people.

But the Palestinian lobby which pumps Palestinian tyres at every turn doesn't need a story about Hamas brutality in Gaza at the very time when its waiting for the soon to be published U.N. report that's been commissioned to make a finding that Israel committed war crimes in defending its people from the thugs of Gaza based on eyewitness reports from er ... well ... people sympathetic to the thugs.

Friday, August 14, 2009

Yesterday, I set out a letter from Mr. Johhny Baker in response to Malcolm Fraser's recent Op Ed in the Melbourne Age. Here's a more complete rebuttal (read "demolition") from the on line Jewish News - FRASER'S VIEW OF HAMAS IS MISGUIDED

Thursday, August 13, 2009

The Age has finally deigned to publish a letter critical of Hamas quisling Malcolm Fraser. Johnny Baker refutes one aspect of the former PM's drivel filled apology to the terrorist organisation published earlier this week. There are many more matters which should be raised in a full rebuttal of the former PM's article but this is a good start:-

FORMER prime minster Malcolm Fraser's call for the Australian Government to engage with Hamas (Comment, 11/8) is as misguided as it is misleading. Even more disturbing than his naive political exhortations is Fraser's sinister claim that the reason the Government has not adopted his personal approach is for ''fear of criticism from the Jewish lobby''. This raises the ancient canard of pointing the finger at a minority group and suggesting it exercises undue power through illegitimate means.

Fraser knows that Jews make up less than 1 per cent of the Australian population. He also knows that it is an articulate and engaged community that is committed to democratic processes. At the end of the day, no force in the world can prevent a Government from doing what it sees as being in the best interests of this country.

Perhaps the reality is simpler. Australia, in keeping with most Western democracies, is simply carrying out good policy in refusing to engage with an extremist fundamentalist group. One can only be gratified that there is bipartisan support in the Australian Parliament for promoting moderation rather than extremism.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

I don't have a problem with any newspaper giving former Prime Ministers a voice to express their views even if they are demented as was Hamas quisling Malcolm Fraser's Op Ed published yesterday in Al Age.

But what's the story with the letters editor over there?

Following Fraser's rant one would expect to see at least one letter challenging his frothy mouthed nonsense. Instead, we treated to more anti-Israel blood libels from an out of state reader.

It helps when you have news editors who are sympathetic to the cause of the Palestinians, but Al Age has gone well beyond the pale and has lost any shred of credibility left that it might have had on matters Middle Eastern.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser is not just some dipstick who loses his pants when travelling overseas and then comes up with some of the most improbable excuses for the absence of his attire.

No. He's a far bigger idiot than that as attested by his op ed contribution in today's Melbourne Age - The isolation of Hamas is impeding peace. The Fairfax people shamelessly accepted his contribution which is nothing more than an apology for one of the most vicious and dangerous terrorist organisations on earth.

Hamas is as much bad news for the Palestinians who it controls in Gaza as it is for the Israelis who it seeks to obliterate.Fraser ignores the Hamas Charter, the terrorism, the hate filled racist incitement and the disgusting indoctrination of children on Hamas television and would have us believe that his cutthroat mates are nothing but a bunch of boy scouts.

The man deserves a rocket in one of those places that were exposed that night in New Orleans when he, ... er had what the boys call, “ a big night out”.

Thursday, August 06, 2009

I'm not usually on the same political wave length as Isi Leibler but I'm with him all the way on this issue - End the blood libels against Israel & the IDF. The smear campaign currently being waged against the IDF is part of a war against Israel and the Jewish people - it's part of a loathesome attempt to demonise and deligitimise the Jewish State and goes against all principle of justice and the law as we know it.

Tuesday, August 04, 2009

When I looked this morning there was a breaking news item in the on line edition of the Melbourne Age concerning anti-terror raids being conducted in Melbourne's northern suburbs. The report seems to have disappeared now (it's back in a sanitised form here) but radio reports indicate that Federal and State police arresting Australian Islamic nationals of Somali and Lebanese background in an extensive counter-terrorism operation.

Melbourne has a large Islamic population of mostly peace loving and law abiding citizens and this news unfortunately does not bode well for them. Hopefully, their leadership will prove that it is of a higher calibre than Krysar Trad who was described last week by a Justice of the NSW Supreme Court as a "dangerous" and "disgraceful individual" and they come out immediately to condemn terror and violence in all forms.

We can only hope they resist the Trad line of spin doctoring every situation and they don't follow the line of burying their heads in the sand and issuing apologies for these evil people.

Monday, August 03, 2009

It's not hard to see through Australians for Palestine mouthpiece Sonja Karkar in today's Australian letters blog. Full marks to her for attempting to create a new mythology on how the Palestinians, whose currently elected leadership is Hamas, are pure white, peacedriven doves but her blind hatred of Israel always gives her away. What she says in her attempt to spin the Palestinians as the sole victims is utter bullshit!

I like the contribution of Fester who responds like this:-

Australians who are genuinely for peace in the Middle East are for Palestinians and are also for Israelis. At present there are many impediments to peace on both sides. High on the list, the Israelis must stop building settlements and the Palestinians must recognise Israel’s right to exist.

Sonja, it is true that in 1988 Arafat hinted that he may alter the PLO charter to accept Israel’s right to exist, but in 21 years no one seems to have gotten around to typing up any such changes. Also I checked on Hamas Charter just last night and they definitely didn’t get the memo. There is no room for Israel or Jews in their thinking. Even Rotary, Lions and Freemasons get a workout in their charter.

Sonja, call me a bleeding heart, but my heart bleeds for the tragedy in the Middle East. In my opinion, the biggest impediment to peace are the fanatics on both sides who say they want peace, but wholly on their own terms. Clearly a two state solution is the only way forward. And that requires compromise.

In the search for peace it is also futile to dwell on the past and who did what to whom 5, 10, 60 or 2000 years ago. The only issue worth debating is what do we do now. I’m sorry to say, Sonja, when I read your letter, which only criticises one side and offers absolutely no solution, I despair that you and your Australians For Palestine organisation are part of problem and not the solution. When someone founds a group of Australians for Peace in The Middle East made up of Israelis, Palestinians, Jews and Muslims who are prepared to focus on dismantling both the weapons and the hatreds on both sides, I’ll be thrilled to join. How about you Sonja?

Sunday, August 02, 2009

Kudos to Seth Frantzman of the Jerusalem Post for his incisive and accurate article - The colonization of the conflict which askes to what degree is the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians choreographed and colonized by outsiders?

Frantzman asks why the local Arabs aren't joining in the weekly rock throwing ritual protests against Israel's security barrier at Bil'in, why there are more foreigners and so-called peace activists (including some from Israeli organizations like Gush Shalom) than Arabs? He concludes that this phenomenon isn't a peace protest but rather it's puerile posturing and it's become a business for the participants.

If what I'm hearing is true, it's also become a very nasty business. Rumour abound about women from one of the Israeli "peace groups" seducing foreign journalists in order to sway them into writing articles sympathetic to their cause. The issue is under investigation.